By gibic on Skatehive
As noted in my previous post, Jakarta is a city marked by an overabundance of shopping malls. This evening, I visited one of its newer additions: Ashta Mall. Located in the SCBD, widely regarded as Jakarta’s most prestigious business district, Ashta occupies a space that encapsulates the city’s aspirational identity. For many fresh graduates, securing employment in this area remains a significant ambition. The district projects a carefully curated image of metropolitan modernity: towering skyscrapers, well-maintained pedestrian infrastructure, and orderly road networks, all reinforcing Jakarta’s self-image as a modern global metropolis. Ashta Mall was established in 2020, making it a relatively recent development. It is unclear what previously occupied this site, likely a residential area. As with many large-scale urban projects, however, the displacement of earlier settlements is neither unusual nor unexpected. Such developments, while emblematic of progress, carry significant environ